22-year-old Clarke signed for the Premier League club earlier this summer from League One side Portsmouth, after impressing clubs in higher tiers with his commanding performances for Pompey in central defence.
However, he's currently competing for a spot in defence with Shane Duffy, Lewis Dunk and Leon Balogun, all of whom are likely to be above the former Portsmouth player in the pecking order.
The imminent signing of Bristol City centre-back Adam Webster is also bad news for Clarke. He will be grateful that this chance to go out on loan at Derby County will be somewhere where he can prove to Seagulls' manager Graham Potter that he has the ability needed to play in the Premier League.
However, this Webster news will be a plus for the Rams, who want to complete the signing of Clarke as soon as possible. This signing, coupled with Krystian Bielik's arrival, will go a long way to bolster the defence after Fikayo Tomori's return to Chelsea.
Here are three benefits to Derby County sealing the loan signing of Matt Clarke.
Point to prove to Brighton
There's no doubt that Clarke will be aiming to play first team football for the Seagulls in the Premier League, even if it's not in the next season or two. His ambition is clear, now is the time for the 22-year-old to show his ability.
Derby County will benefit from this, who will have themselves a very commanding centre-back who's familiar with the challenges of the EFL. However, Clarke will be desperate to prove that he's too good to be just an EFL player in the second tier.
Clarke's hunger will be Brighton's loss and Derby County's gain this season, with all parties hoping that this loan deal proves to be successful for the former Portsmouth defender.
Not a costly transfer
This reasonably cheap loan signing paves the way for Derby County to make permanent signings, including the arrival of Arsenal player Krystian Bielik.
Fikayo Tomori was a very successful loan signing for the Rams last season under former manager Frank Lampard. Phillip Cocu will be desperate to see Matt Clarke have a similar impact to the current Chelsea player, who is currently attracting interest from Everton.
The signings of Clarke and Bielik will help Derby build from the back as they crave another promotion-chasing season in the 2019-20 Championship campaign. If these deals go through, this could be a massive season for those at Pride Park.
Squad depth in the heart of defence
Richard Keogh and Curtis Davies have needed competition all summer after the Tomori departure, the signings of Clarke (as well as Bielik) will give them just that. If a certain centre-back partnership isn't working well, Cocu will have the ability to rotate the defence until he finds the right combination.
It will also give Derby the knowledge that they have the squad depth needed if they get injuries and suspensions, which are very likely to happen throughout the long season in the Championship.
This squad depth could be the difference between missing out on the play-offs and a finish that could allow the Rams to fire themselves back in to the Premier League. They are still yet to face the demons of their horrid 2007-08 campaign where they finished with a record low points tally in the Premier League.